Unless There's Children Crying
by MandyTrimm
Summary: A collection of 11th Doctor short stories involving plots with children of all ages. WIP - Ongoing Quotes of inspiration: "You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets... unless there's children crying." "When we're holding on to something precious, we run. We run and run fast as we can. And we don't stop running until we are out from under the shadows."
1. Flowers In the Attic

**Author Note: My first one-shot. Part of an Eleventh Doctor collection i'm writing. This is the first in the collection. I hope you all enjoy it. And yes I'm aware that the title is the same as a book/movie. The title is what hit me and gave me inspiration for this story concept. Please read and review! (Originally released on my deviantart only. But I decided to share here too.)**

The little girl lived in a city of metal, built within the space of a vast spaceship. She'd never seen Earth, the home that humanity originated on. She'd never walked in the grass, or looked up into the bright blue sky or touched and smelt a real flower. She spent all her days in the attic of her home dreaming and wondering what it would be like to see a flower in real life.

One day a vase of flowers appeared on her table in the attic. Every week for the rest of her life a new vase of flowers arrived on that same table near her rocking chair by the window. Many times she left her magical visitor notes and once a week that note was replaced with a new bouquet of flowers.

When she had grown older and her time had come for the next adventure she rested herself in the rocker by the window in the attic and waited. A blue box magically appeared deep in the corner of the attic, wind stirring the blanket on the now old woman's lap.

The Doctor kneeled before her, a vase of fresh flowers tucked in his arm, and he lifted the note now clutched lightly in her hand. He opened the note and read:

When I was a little girl I dreamed of grass. I dreamed of rain and clouds and a blue sky. When I was a little girl I dreamed of flowers, of their brightly colored petals and what they might smell like, feel like to touch. And then one day the magic flowers appeared. Over and over they came through the years giving life to those dreams.

I don't know who you are and I don't know where you're from but you made a little girl's dreams come true. And if you are reading this note then I am no longer dreaming. I am living. Right now I am walking through a field of all the flowers you've given me. The sun is shining and the sky is the bluest of blue. And I don't know who you are and I don't know where you're from but I want you to know…

I love you,

Lily


	2. Hidden Jewel

**Authors Note: The second in my Doctor Who 11th Doctor one-shot collection. I know it isn't perfect, and certainly nothing like what I usually write, but I had to get this out of my head. Please read and review!**

Somewhere far away some bad people overheard a man talking about going home to see his precious jewel. Men were boasting of the riches they'd carry home and laughed at the man who had nothing. But the man just smiled and said that he did not need money nor diamonds and pearls because when he returned home he would be the richest man of all. And overhearing this the bad men made a plan, they wanted to take his riches for themselves. They were greedy and they killed the man when he would not tell them where his precious treasure was hidden.

The greedy men travelled in the eastern lands of Zafara for over 3 months, as they followed the rumors of the man who'd boasted he didn't need gold and jewels. The man had told many people this on his journey and so it wasn't hard for the men to track him back to his home. Every month the foreigners travelled farther inland towards the little town of Kafa.

Kafa was a quiet place until the bad men came. The little girl's mother had always told her if something bad happened in the town when her mummy wasn't home she was to hide in the secret place. "It is a game, just like hide-and-seek," her mother told her, "so you must stay hidden until I come and find you."

And so when bad people came with their bloodied weapons she ran and she hid. For hours there were screams of panic and fighting. The little girl didn't understand, shouldn't the others hide too? Didn't they know how to play? Soon night fell and the little girl was hungry, thirsty and cold but still she waited all night through the silence. Surely her mummy hadn't forgotten where her secret hiding place was.

In the bad men's camp a mysterious man arrived in a magic blue box, he had heard stories of the quiet town of Kafa and its lustrous gardens and talented jewelers. But instead of beauty and peace he found carnage and terrible men who had left villages burning in their midst when they didn't find what they were looking for. He declared that no more deaths would happen as long as he was there. But the bad men would not go; they were determined to have the hidden jewel they had learned were hid deep in the woods near the little town of Kafa. But the man with the magic box was clever and he did not like violence or death so he tricked the men by offering them a large diamond. Thinking they had found what they were looking for they wrestled for the gem. But once the diamond had been touched the men were sealed within it, a tiny glass prison. The men had wanted a jewel, and they had been given one, forever.

But the story of the hidden jewel was still a mystery, and the man with the magic box liked mysteries, so he inquired as to what the jewel could be that would cause men to kill so shamelessly for it. He was led to a woman who supposedly knew the location of the hidden jewel. She told him the story of how once upon a time a jewel was born and the older it grew the more precious it became. A jewel so beautiful it shined brighter than the sun. She told the man to look deep in the woods where cherry blossoms fell and great vines formed a door in front of a great oak tree and that if he searched the tree very closely he would find the treasure.

And so her story led him deep into the woods near Kafa and he searched and searched until he found the place where cherry blossom petals lined the forest floor and the grape vines made a great door before the large oak tree. He searched all around that tree until he noticed a little opening behind the vines wrapping around the broad trunk. He pulled the vines aside and inside he was startled to find a little girl. Her hair was rich as gold, eyes blue as sapphires and skin so light she appeared to be carved from pearls.

"Is hide-and-seek over now? I'm hungry," the little girl told him.

The man smiled helping her from her hiding spot and lifted her into his arms, procuring an apple from deep within his pockets he handed it to her. Now he understood why the woman had sent him to search for the jewel. While the child may not have been something to sell or to own she was every bit as precious and important as all the jewels in the world. He carried the child all the way back to the injured woman and the child ran to her.

The woman hugged her daughter as tightly as she could, shedding tears of joy. The man turned to leave but he stopped to stare at the child one last time before leaving the small hut. "What's your name?" he asked the child.

"Ruby."

The man laughed, "The most precious Ruby in the world."


End file.
